A day at the women’s cricket
A women’s T20 World Cup will be underway in England (but not in Wales) from mid-June. It may not get the media headlines it deserves. The quality of the cricket played is likely to be excellent and as with football the women’s game comes with more game and less histrionics.
I wasn’t at the 78th anniversary of the Nakba march in London on 16th May where I might ordinarily have been found because I was attending a one day cricket international between England and New Zealand in Cardiff.
It was a sort of a special day. I’ve been at many games at Sofia Gardens over the last 30 years with my late partner Megan who died at the end of October 2025 aged 67. Saturday was just two days after what would have been her 68th birthday and two weeks before the first anniversary of the last game we both attended there- England v New Zealand (men) on June 1st 2025. The memories as might be expected are fresh.
Also there on Saturday were Megan’s sister Bronwen, her partner Jon and their grown up children Menna and Stefan. Only Stefan and Jon had been at a cricket match before, so it was a new experience for some.
Football, the offside rule and VAR can be baffling but cricket has the DRS and the DL system as well as LBWs and a whole book of Laws (not rules).
It being Cardiff there was rain and it was chilly, although in recent seasons I’ve been at Sofia Gardens, where the stands have little cover, where the sun was too hot to sit in your seat for extended periods.
Fortunately despite persistent drizzle there was enough time to get an outcome in a reduced overs game with a DL result. In short New Zealand won. Megan and Bronwen’s father Owen was a New Zealander so clearly there were divided loyalties and its easier to support England on an anyone but England basis when you are in the Capital of another country altogether (as the recent Senedd election results reminded)
As above the cricket on display was excellent. It was the final ODI appearance for New Zealand legend Suzie Bates who is (allegedly) retiring although she made a modest contribution here. Lauren Bell bowled well for England but their fielding, ahem, still did not look to be at zeitgeist levels. Agreed it was a damp and slippery surface though.
In short an enjoyable day and also one to remember Megan by, who it must be said would have worked out (as I did) where the game was headed and been off to the dry and the pub a bit earlier than the family group ended up departing. They will of course learn…
Guardian report
Raf Nicholson has written the history of women’s cricket in Britain since 1945
Dr Rafaelle Nicholson – Bournemouth University Staff Profile Pages
Kmflett's Blog 
I loved playing cricket when I was little (in the 50s) with 2 boys from my school, one from along the back lane, so neighbourhood, pre-school friends, the other a year above us.We played on the Bankies, only sometimes joined by others (only boys as far as I remember).
Unfortunately, I never got to play properly. Later, I went to a cricket club with a friend, whose brothers were members, but there weren’t opportunities to play.
We persuaded a teacher at our girls’ Grammar School to put out an announcement in Assembly for anyone interested in playing to meet at lunch-time.There were only the 3 of us so it didn’t happen.
We had rounders. I never got on with the bat or waving it around with nothing to defend.